By Aaron 7/14/2008
No more do franchise fans have to wonder about the time gap between installments because direct-to-video features fill in the blanks, connecting the movies. This began with The Animatrix for The Matrix franchise and continues, this week, with Batman: Gotham Knight for The Batman Begins franchise. While The Animatrix focused mostly on character back-stories and filling in details about the world the Wachowski’s created, the six fifteen minute episodes in GK are more like stand alone stories showing the rise of Batman in Gotham.
‘Have I Got a Story For You’ starts the feature off with a story documenting the growing legend of “the Batman.” Told from a few interesting perspectives about an intriguing villain, the story is a good way to start GK. At the same time, the animation depicts Batman in a way he has rarely been shown before, more hallowed and nebulous than even Frank Miller would dare draw.
‘Crossfire’ shows the tenuous relationship between the “vigilante Batman” and the Gotham Police and the emerging popularity of Batman despite early backlash. Crossfire introduces strong mob overtones that set the tone for the rest of the feature, and based on early previews, of The Dark Knight as well. This short was probably my favorite because it offered a strong story and plenty of action that contributed well to the overarching Batman storyline.
‘Field Test’ has Lucius Fox give Wayne a device that can deflect bullets and leads to a powerful quote where Batman says he is willing to put his own life at risk, but not others. This one had little real story and was pretty boring, saved only by Batman’s final pledge that his pursuit of justice would risk no one else’s life but his own. The animation in this one was one of my favorites – a simple style with a good view of Batman.
‘In Darkness Dwells’ showcases the return of The Scarecrow and his teaming with Killer Croc but is more noteworthy for once again documenting the evolving relationship between Batman and Lt. Gordon. This story was interesting because it brought The Scarecrow back, confirming that he did escape the narrows during Batman Begins after his brief run in with Batman. The picture of The Scarecrow was different but powerful while the conception of Killer Croc was disappointing next to his original splash in Batman: The Animated Series.
‘Working Through Pain’ is mildly a background story in that it shows a young Wayne looking for ways to master emotional and physical pain. As far as origin stories or background detailers go this story was extremely weak and barely harnessing the inner pain/outer pain themes of Batman Begins. Building on very little and producing even less, this short comes across as little more than filler.
‘Deadshot’ shows Batman trying to track down a deadly assassin who’s resonating gunshots remind Batman of his parents’ death. This short probably has the best action scene in the whole feature against a villain I had never seen before but was a great antagonist in a story that brought the small mob elements in the other stories together. It was a particularly good lead in to the concept that the mob had realized things were changing because of Batman and Gordon and that they were trying to reverse that.
As a whole the stories establish a narrow bridge from Batman Begins to The Dark Knight. The shorts show us how Batman became the legendary nightmare that haunted the streets of Gotham just like in Batman (1989) and won over the rehabilitated Gotham police. Beyond that there is not a lot else in terms of “Batman between Begins and Dark Knight,” but they needed some way to advertise the series.
Kevin Conroy is the best part of the shorts, the voice of Batman from Batman: The Animated Series. He provides some stability to a character that has been portrayed by so many actors. Conroy also reminds us of the greatness of Batman: The Animated Series and how it brought the legend to a new generation and taught us so much about the world of Batman.
As a wholistic feature, the six parts of GK are disappointing in many regards because they lack the depth and mystery of Batman: The Animated Series episodes and are simply too short to do much of anything. Some episodes stand out while two or three feel more like filler. But hey, it’s hard for a seventy-five minute movie to do a hell of a lot. 6/10 SaltyStix.
If you want to read SaltyStix' review of The Dark Knight, check back on Friday . If you have other questions or comments for me, don't hesitate to shoot me an email at aaron.saltystix@gmail.com.